Sleep Suit Dymaxion

Fans of Buckminster Fuller might know him for his daring and dynamic geodesic dome designs – but did you know he was also a proponent of polyphasic sleep, taking just four thirty-minute naps a day for nearly two years? He really could have used one of these outfits.

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Sleep Suit Dymaxion putting on

Designed by Forrest Jessee for the bustling non-stop lifestyle of contemporary cosmopolitans, this urban sleep suit is a take-anywhere, nap-anytime ensemble made to be slept in on the spot. Who has time for wake-up and quiet-down rituals with only a few short sleep cycles a day?

Sleep Suit Dymaxion grass

The overlapping layers are engineered to be a combination of structurally supportive, flexible and comfortable, providing a sense of stable security as well as an all-around cozy sleeping environment. Other factors such as the need for regular air flow, temperature regulation and varying degrees of protection and comfort along different points of the body were also considered in the creation of this one-of-a-kind combination sleeping bag and clothing product.

Sleep Suit Dymaxion on stairs

Here’s some more info from the designer, Forrest Jessee, who’s full of all kinds of strange and brilliant ideas you should check out.

“The project attempts to challenge the idea of personal space in relationship to the human body and its surrounding environment,” says Jessee. “It is inspired by Buckminster Fuller’s practice of Dymaxion Sleeping, which involves four 30-minute naps over a period of 24 hours, and explores the material requirements for such conditions. The very close relationship between the human body and the suit acts as the generator of form as well as tool to negotiate between the occupant and his or her surroundings. The structure of the material, a structural pleat, is used as a means to create feelings of connected and disconnectedness, provide varying levels of support where the user needs it the most, and allow constant airflow between the inside and outside of the suit. By thinking of the cut pattern as sections of the body, the suit can act as a semi-permeable, transportable and adjustable cocoon.”

Sleep Suit Dymaxion laying on bench

“The dymaxion sleep cycle was branded as a more ‘efficient’ method of sleeping, where the sleeping phases give the body the rest it requires for survival. By reducing the form to exactly what the sleep program requires, it creates a portable structure that could be taken on and off in less than a minute. It also introduced an ew ritual into the sleep cycle: the taking on and off of the suit, which has been identified as an important part of sleep behavior missing from many dymaxion sleeper’s patterns. The result is a suit that supports the body in all the right places and at the same time both filters and acknowledges its surroundings and occupant, providing a sound 30 minute nap in a variety of different positions and environments. After all, you only get four of them every 24 hours.”